Scotland’s first HIS-regulated independent medical agency

Caledonian Psychiatry has become the first independent medical agency in Scotland to be regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), the national body responsible for the quality and safety of healthcare. The practice was granted registration (number 03427) on 28 May 2026. It is an unusual milestone, and a deliberate one — here is what it means, why it matters, and how you can use it when choosing care.

What is Healthcare Improvement Scotland regulation?

Healthcare Improvement Scotland is the statutory regulator for independent healthcare in Scotland. Any independent clinic, hospital or service that wants to operate must register with HIS and then demonstrate, on an ongoing basis, that it meets national standards. Those standards span clinical safety and effectiveness, governance and leadership, safe staffing, record-keeping, the safe management of medicines, and how a service listens and responds to feedback and complaints.

Registration is not a one-off badge. Regulated services are subject to inspection, must report certain events, and can have conditions placed on them — or be required to make improvements — if standards are not met. In short, it brings the same kind of independent, ongoing scrutiny that underpins NHS care into the private sector.

What ‘independent medical agency’ means

HIS regulates several categories of independent service. An independent medical agency is the category that fits a doctor-led service such as ours, where care is provided directly by a medical practitioner rather than through a traditional bricks-and-mortar clinic. Being the first of this kind in Scotland to achieve HIS registration reflects how the service is built: doctor-delivered, remote, and held to the same accountability you would expect from any regulated healthcare provider.

What regulation covers in practice

For a psychiatry service, regulation reaches the things that matter most to patients:

• Safe prescribing, including the careful, lawful handling of controlled medications such as ADHD stimulants.
• Clinical governance — clear systems for assessment, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up that follow recognised guidelines.
• Accurate record-keeping and secure handling of your personal and medical information.
• Complaints and the statutory duty of candour — a legal duty to be open and honest with patients if something goes wrong. You can read our complaints and duty of candour policy in full.

Why this matters when choosing private ADHD or autism care

Private assessment has grown quickly in recent years, driven largely by long NHS waits. For many people that growth has been welcome — but national media investigations have also raised concerns about the quality of some private ADHD assessments, where diagnoses were made too quickly or without proper depth. Regulation is the clearest safeguard against that: independent confirmation that a service has been checked against recognised standards, and is held to them over time.

Choosing a regulated provider does not just protect you at the point of assessment. It matters for everything that follows — safe ongoing prescribing, proper monitoring, clear records your GP can rely on, and a route to raise concerns if you ever need to.

How to check any private provider is regulated

Whoever you are considering, you can and should check their regulatory status. In Scotland, independent healthcare services appear on the HIS register; in England it is the Care Quality Commission (CQC). You can view our own registration directly on the Healthcare Improvement Scotland register. It is also worth confirming that the doctor seeing you is on the GMC register — Dr David Crocker’s GMC number is 7411382.

About Caledonian Psychiatry

Caledonian Psychiatry provides private psychiatric assessment and ongoing care for adult ADHD, autism and mental health conditions, delivered across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and the rest of Scotland — and to patients anywhere in the UK — by secure video. Assessments are carried out by Dr David Crocker, an experienced psychiatrist (MRCPsych). Read more about Dr Crocker, or get in touch to arrange an appointment.

Published June 2026. Caledonian Psychiatry is the trading name of Edinburgh Psych Limited, registered with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (reg. no. 03427).